1) Mantis Shrimp Inspire New Ultra-Strong Materials

One of the ocean’s fiercest fighters may serve as the inspiration
for a new wave of strong materials for airplanes and football
helmets. Researchers from the University of California Riverside
(UCR) have identified a unique structure that wraps around the
mantis shrimp’s club to protect itself from self-inflicted damage
as it crushes hard-shelled prey. This discovery could lead to ultra-strong materials in the aerospace and sports industries.

A new polymer chain clears a major hurdle for the future
of energy storage. A team of chemists at the University of
Massachusetts Amherst has developed the polymer-based system
that can yield energy storage density—the amount of energy
stored—more than two times higher than previous systems.

An experimental camera can produce extremely detailed images
without even using a lens. Scientists from the University of
California, Berkeley have created an easy-to-build lensless camera
that produces 3D images from a single 2D image.

A decades old mystery regarding a centuries old sea creature
may have been solved. Paleontologists from the Royal Ontario
Museum and the University of Toronto have revealed more insight
into the Habelia optata—a sea predator which belongs to the
arthropods and lived during the middle Cambrian period about

508 million years ago—from fossil records found in the Burgess
Shale fossil deposit in British Columbia.

https://www.rdmag.com/article/2017/12/scientists-finally-describe-500-million-year-old-sea-predator5) Engineer of Game-Changing Drone Warren “Woody”Hoburg Named 2017 Innovator of the Year

Hoburg’s software and engineering achievements lead to long-endurance UAV that can fly for five days

https://www.rdmag.com/article/2017/12/engineer-game-changing-drone-warren-woody-hoburg-named-2017-innovator-year6) New Autonomous Car Can Handle Snow and Ice

Researchers from the VTT Technical Research Center in Finland
have developed Martti—a self-driving vehicle with a system that
is designed to maneuver rough and icy conditions.

◗ R&D Special Focus: Each month, R&D Magazine takes a special focus on an emerging technology or up-and-coming area
of research. In January, we focused on automotive innovations—a fast-growing area of research which encompasses everything from
autonomous technologies to engine efficiency. To view our automotive coverage in January visit https://www.rdmag.com/topics/automotive.
Be sure to check back to rdmag.com in February, as we take a deeper look at nanomaterials/nanotechnology, as well as in March when we
focus on sustainable and clean technologies.